ACC: Notre Dame thumps Boston College

The Associated Press

Saturday

Sep 16, 2017 at 9:32 PMSep 16, 2017 at 9:32 PM

BOSTON — Brandon Wimbush ran for four touchdowns and 207 yards — a record for a Notre Dame quarterback — and Josh Adams had 229 rushing yards on Saturday to help the Irish respond to their fall from the rankings with a 49-20 victory over Boston College.

Wimbush scored on runs of 1, 2, 3, and 65 yards, setting up two other touchdowns with 46- and 32-yard runs. Adams broke free for 65- and 64-yard runs but was chased down both times by BC defensive back Isaac Yiadom.

In the matchup of the only two Catholic schools in FBS — a rivalry known as the "Holy War" — Notre Dame (2-1) led just 14-13 midway through the third quarter before scoring the next three touchdowns to beat the Eagles for the sixth straight time.

After BC (1-2) was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 on the Notre Dame 30, Wimbush broke downfield for 46 yards to set up Tony Jones' 1-yard touchdown. Adams opened the next Irish possession with a 36-yard run, Wimbush connected with Durham Smythe for 33 yards, and then two plays later the quarterback headed for the pylon to give the Irish a 28-13 lead.

When Notre Dame got the ball back, Wimbush broke right and then cut back across the field, outracing the BC defense 65 yards to the end zone.

Freshman Anthony Brown connected with Charlie Callinan on fourth-and-goal from the 14 for BC's second touchdown of the game, cutting the deficit to 35-20. But Wimbush again got loose, running 32 yards to the 3.

Dexter Williams ran it in from there and added a 15-yard score with 4:57 left to make it 49-20.

Wimbush completed 11 of 24 passes for 96 yards, with one interception. In all, the Irish ran for 515 yards on 51 carries.

Brown was 24 of 40 for 215 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Duke 34, Baylor 20

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke could have scrapped the ground game as Baylor kept dialing up exotic blitzes and unexpected defensive fronts.

Wilson had two long touchdown runs, Brown added a lengthy score and Duke beat Baylor 34-20 on Saturday.

Wilson rushed for 176 yards and scored on runs of 50 and 65 yards to help the Blue Devils (3-0) open with three consecutive victories for just the second time since 1994.

"One of the things that happens in the run game against multitudes of stunts, pressures, is you have to just keep calling it," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. "Sometimes the tendency is to get away from it when you get stopped for one or two or three yards. But what will also happen is what we saw Shaun Wilson do."

Brown added a 34-yard TD run, Ben Humphreys returned an interception 22 yards for a score — one of four turnovers forced by Duke — and Austin Parker kicked two field goals, including a career-long 45-yarder.

Wake Forest 46, Utah State 10

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford remembers walking off the field three years following a loss to Utah State feeling battered and bruised after getting knocked around.

He felt dramatically different on Saturday.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as the Demon Deacons dominated Utah State to start 3-0 for the second straight season.

"They have surrounded me with some really good skill (players) now, but the big jump is the offensive line," Wolford said. "Three years I got drilled a few times. I don't want to knock the O-line back then but I remember coming off the field hurting. ... This is the best I've felt after a game in a while."

North Carolina 53, Old Dominion 23

NORFOLK, Va. — Chazz Surratt ran for two touchdowns and threw for one and North Carolina dominated Old Dominion.

The game wasn't quite the 80-20 victory the Tar Heels (1-2) handed the Monarchs four years ago, but seemed to have the potential for that as North Carolina took a 39-7 lead at halftime. The mistake-prone Monarchs' only points in the half came on a 100-yard kickoff return by Isaiah Harper.

North Carolina scored three touchdowns, each on a drive lasting under 2 minutes, in a span of 4:12 in the second quarter.

It was a critical victory for Syracuse (2-1), which was upset at home last week by Middle Tennessee. Central Michigan (2-1) was coming off a big win at Kansas.

It had been two years almost to the day since Dungey took a violent helmet-to-helmet hit in the Carrier Dome that knocked him out of a game against Central Michigan with a concussion in only his second start for the Orange. The Chippewas, who lost that game in overtime, returned with the player that delivered the blow - defensive end Mitch Stanitzek - a prominent part of their defense.

With the score tied late in the second quarter, Dungey showed he had put that play far in the rearview mirror. He rolled away from the rush of Stanitzek and hit Sean Riley for a 44-yard gain. Strickland scored on the next play from the 9 to give the Orange a 24-17 halftime lead.

The Orange defense dominated the third quarter as Syracuse outgained the Chippewas 333-60 to take control.

North Carolina St. 49, Furman 16

RALEIGH, N.C. — With its offensive line back at full strength, North Carolina State flexed its muscle.

Jaylen Samuels rushed for three touchdowns to help the Wolfpack beat Furman 49-16.

Samuels scored on runs of 2, 1 and 1 yards, all in the first half. He added six catches for 75 yards for the Wolfpack (2-1), who rushed for a season-high 242 yards.

Ryan Finley passed for 231 yards and a touchdown for N.C. State before sitting out the fourth quarter with the game in hand.

Nyheim Hines rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown and added a 50-yard kickoff return that set up a score for the Wolfpack.

N.C. State was bolstered by the return of right tackle Will Richardson, who started after serving a team-issued suspension for the first two games of the season.

Virginia 38, UConn 18

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Kurt Benkert passed for a school-record breaking 455 yards and Virginia avenged a heartbreaking loss last season to beat Connecticut.

Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall praised his signal caller for his ability to direct a vertical offense.

Virginia came in a rare double-digit favorite and the Cavaliers (2-1) jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead and never looked back. Benkert, a fifth-year senior, broke his own passing record of 421 yards set last season against Central Michigan with a 73-yard touchdown pass to Andre Levrone in the middle of the fourth quarter. Levrone finished with a career-high 127 yards on four catches.

The Huskies offense struggled to keep pace with the constant pressure of the Virginia front early. UConn (1-1) went 1 of 4 on red zone possessions — including two turnovers and a turnover-on-downs.

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